Top favourite Arnaud Démare (FDJ) won the French national championships road race in Saint-Omer (Nord-Pas-de-Calais) on Sunday afternoon. Démare won the sprint in a small peloton, holding off Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis). Jérémy Leveau (Roubaix-Lille Métropole) was third at long distance.
It’s the second time 25-year-old Démare gets to wear the blue-blanc-rouge, after winning in Futuroscope in 2014. He takes over the jersey from teammate Arthur Vichot.
We have a super team. We went 100 per cent for me today. I was very good and the team was strong. I’m super happy. [...] One doesn’t get used to wearing this jersey. It’ll be a different experience compared to the first time. I was very young in 2014,” Démare said in the post-race flash interview.
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The man next to him - Nacer Bouhanni - was less excited, two months after his crash in the Tour of Yorkshire. Before crossing the line, Bouhanni was making gestures to point out that he didn’t like the way Démare sprinted.
“He moved twice. He didn’t hold his line in the final metres. I was relegated for a few centimetres in Hamburg. I’m disappointed. I’d loved to have won,” Bouhanni said in his post-race flash interview. Démare did move but the jury felt it wasn’t enough to relegate him.
The French peloton faced a battle of 248 kilometres on a 15.5 kilometres long course, with the wind and two climbs featuring on each of the sixteen laps. A large group of fourteen riders formed the breakaway of the day but the FDJ-led peloton didn’t offer them a lot of ground. Thomas Rostollan (Armée de Terre) and Anthony Turgis (Cofidis) were the strongest men in front, dropping them on the climb. Meanwhile, another chase group was formed. Eight riders from this group bridged up with the two leaders when passing the Longuenesse Souvenir Cemetery. At 40 kilometres from the finish, the peloton was a minute down on the ten leaders.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
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